Corey Pierce

I've been up the mountain and I had a choice. Should I come down? So I came down. God said, ‘OK, you've been up on the mountain, now you go down. You're on your own, free. Check in later, but now you're on your own. — Bob Dylan

Driving down Napa Valley’s famous Highway 29 has an almost Vegas-like feel to it. All the big names line the street like beacons of the good life. It wouldn’t seem out-of-step if promoters stood roadside and tried to usher you in like sideshow pushers from the old circus days. “Step right up and see the greatest Cabernets known to man: Cakebread, Mondavi, Groth and the one and only, world-famous, Opus One! They’re all here!” You can’t help but think the whole thing’s gonna be a big letdown when you finally get inside and discover it’s just more Napa Valley Cabernet. How much did I pay for this again?

The limos, balloon rides and an obligatory shift on the Napa Valley wine train are what most tourists take away from a trip to Napa. But there is another side to this most famous of California wine regions — a side few people ever see. Far from the polished tasting rooms and elegant picnic grounds live Napa’s mountain people, folks who have forgone the soft Napa Valley lifestyle in search of something else.

If you crank a left at the The Oakville Grocery, a limousine-infested tourist hotspot, you will start up a road known to locals as “the grade.” The first sign recommends you have an appropriate vehicle to make the climb and you soon find out it’s not a frivolous posting. The grade dips and winds, sometimes narrowing to one lane, with evidence of frequent washouts everywhere. As your knuckles whiten and your heartbeat picks up, you get the distinct feeling you’ve left the Disneyland-version of Napa Valley down below. The fancy gates and monumental wineries are now long gone. In their place are barns, gravity-defying houses and vineyards clinging to impossibly steep slopes. Who would be crazy enough to make wine here?

I’m not sure if it’s the mountains that change the people, or if a certain type is drawn here, but there is something distinctly different about the people who call the mountains of Napa Valley home. The pace is slower in the hills, the people have an honest look to them, with rundown trucks instead of fancy cars, and designer clothes give way to wine-stained T-shirts and worn jeans. But most of all it’s the attitude that strikes me. The brash, big talk of the valley floor, with its chatter of awards, Wine Spectator points and swank guest houses, is gone. The mountain folk have a quiet confidence, humble character and show genuine appreciation that you bothered to make the trip to see them. No easy task in some cases. In fact, it can be downright dangerous.

Napa is flanked by two mountain ranges. The west side Mayacamas range includes Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain and Diamond Mountain. Providing a pretty backdrop to the east is the famed Howell Mountain, and the lesser-known Pritchard Hill and Atlas Peak areas.

Each region is distinct in its own way, but they do share similarities. Mountain wines tend to be less easy, less flashy and tighter wound. They take some time to get to know and hold great rewards for those who take the time to seek them out. The producers tend to be small, incredibly devoted and driven by something besides simply making a profit. These are complex people with mysterious motivations who go to great lengths to craft small amounts of wine that get little attention from the media. For those of us who are faithful to this league of rogue winemakers, we are thankful that they toil in the mountains so that we can drink the unique wines they produce.

***

Suggestions:

• 2005 Wing Canyon Cabernet, Mt. Veeder, $50 — You can’t visit Wing Canyon unless you happen to be in possession of a four-by-four rental vehicle. But that’s OK, there isn’t much of a winery to see anyway. Here, Bill Jenkins makes just a few hundred cases of Cabernet from his stunning hillside vineyard that he planted himself in the early ’80s. His winery is little more than a breezeway and his cellar more of a shed, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing top quality wines.

• 2005 Paras Vineyard Viognier, Mt. Veeder, $38.95 — A wine of unquestionable intensity and complexity, this mountain-grown Viognier will give any French version a run for its money. Here, Doug Danielak creates some of the most distinct wines on Mt. Veeder, including Grenache and Cabernet. He can also be found trucking water up to the top of the hill, as there is no well, or moving soil back up in his constant battle against erosion.

• 2007 Chappellet Cabernet, Pritchard Hill, $50 — Chappellet has made wine on Pritchard Hill since the 1960s. Here, 400 metres above the valley floor, they continue to make iconic Cabernets for their faithful followers. This Cabernet is grown on the rocky slopes of Pritchard Hill and reflects its terroir with firm structure and dusty character.